There are many factors determining the success of a new digital product. One of them is good cooperation and understanding between the client and the product development team. To ensure that’s the case at Boldare, we’ve decided to create a brand-new role – New Product Guide.
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The first stage of new product development is surely exciting. After all, it’s usually a big milestone in a company’s development. But that’s just one side of the coin. Designing and developing a new product can also be challenging or even straight-up scary, especially if it’s your first such project.
Undoubtedly, there are several challenges along the way:
- IT companies frequently toss around terms and abbreviations clients do not always understand (“So, you’re saying Java and JavaScript are two completely different things?”)
- The development process may seem complicated (“What’s this Agile thing about?”)
- The technologies and tools in use can be difficult to grasp (“Can you explain the difference between MVP and prototype again, please?”)
- And finally, even the outcome can seem uncertain (“We’re paying a lot for this application, and what if we’re not satisfied with it?”)
Let the developer who has never heard similar questions cast the first stone.
Here at Boldare, we fully understand these challenges. We know that our work isn’t always straightforward. And we want all our clients to feel comfortable with the process. That’s why we strive to be 100% transparent in communication and open to any questions and doubts you, as a client, can have.
Our experience, though, shows that’s often not enough. That’s why we have created a brand-new role just for the purpose of guiding our clients through the process and getting the client and our development team together. That’s why Boldare has created the position of New Product Guide. The name is pretty much self-explanatory, but let’s start at the beginning.
How does Boldare take care of each new product?
In digital product development, everything must be planned and organized. Otherwise, you will never get the product you expect. Our work starts with product discovery workshops. They help us achieve a clear (and agreed with the client) final product vision. This way, we can stay on track through the whole process as the outcome is specified from day one.
Then, FCPD starts. That’s one of those mysterious acronyms, standing for full-cycle product development. FCPD directs our work step by step, from initial idea to product launch. There are four major stages in the FCPD process:
- Prototype: You can think of this as a usable visualization of your idea. At this stage, we verify whether our assumptions can be executed within available technologies, timeframe, and budget.
- MVP (minimum viable product): At this stage, your product is built as a basic yet functional version. An MVP comes with the most important functions and features so that it can be shown to investors or stakeholders.
- Product-market fit: This stage is crucial. Obviously, you want to make sure your product will succeed on the market. Therefore, it’s necessary to verify whether it satisfies real user needs and fills a gap in the current digital product landscape.
- Scaling: We don’t just leave you with a ready-made product! We’re with you all the way and will help you promote your digital product so that the user base grows exponentially.
We take our work very seriously, and that’s one of the reasons why our clients are eager to work with us. So, where does this New Product Guide (NPG) fit in our work?
What is a New Product Guide responsible for?
The shortest answer is everything. In fact, our New Product Guide has but one purpose – to assist our clients all the way to a successful new digital product. Of course, this role is especially necessary at the beginning, when there are usually tons of questions and doubts.
We can say that the role of NPG is “embedded” in each stage of the product development process, and the duties depend on where we are in the product development process.
Typically, the responsibilities of an NPG comprise the following elements:
- Coordinating the product launch and communication with the client from the moment the sales team reports such a need.
- Onboarding the client before product discovery, the FCPD process, and product launch.
- Onboarding our team before product discovery, the FCPD process, and product launch (yes, one of the responsibilities of a New Product Guide is to help our team become fully acquainted with the client and their product, as well as their corporate structures).
- Coordinating and facilitating product discovery workshops.
- Creating and sharing summaries after every workshop.
- Ensuring access to all the necessary data and information on both the Boldare and client sides.
- Streamlining the process of the product launch as well as creating and updating sets of tools and techniques supporting the product.
In summary, we can say our NPG is a facilitator working on three different levels:
- Boldare-client communication
- Each stage of the FCPD process
- Product approach: Here, it is crucial to discuss with the client and the development team such questions as: Shall we start with a prototype? Or perhaps we should just run a few tests and move to the MVP stage? A New Product Guide helps in keeping the whole process user-centric and compliant with the client’s requirements.
The benefits of having a New Product Guide in the product development team
In many digital product development companies, all this work is done by several different specialists. Is our model any better? We believe so, and our first-hand experiences with our clients confirm this to be true.
The biggest advantage of this model is that thanks to a New Product Guide, our clients feel well taken care of. There are no points at which the client is confused about what’s going on. There is always a go-to person ready to assist in everything related to their new product.
Secondly, developers can focus on their work and don’t need to lead communication with the client (which also streamlines the whole product development process).
And thirdly, a New Product Guide ensures everyone is on the same page and that both sides understand each other correctly. With an NPG, the risk of misunderstanding or wrong assumptions is minimized (and sometimes even eliminated altogether).
All in all, we’re confident introducing the New Product Guide role to our company was a good move, reflecting our proactive approach with every client.
New Product Guide at Boldare - a summary
To sum up, the New Product Guide plays a crucial role in the whole development process, from the first call/meeting with the client up to the product’s release. They guide our clients through the intricacies of digital product development, make sure everyone is up to speed with what’s happening at any given moment, and keep everything user-centric and focused on the product in question.
Earlier in this post, we mentioned that we want each client to feel comfortable when working with us. If you’re thinking about developing a new digital product, we encourage you to give us a shot.
Feel free to write to us today! A New Product Guide will take it from there!
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